Lynn HEnglish IV Gifted

Spillane
27 September 1996

The ChriRtmas Rat

'(J
e
Y. I It all began one t:"'Vening last year,
Y'1

a few weeks before Christmas. My house

OrJ't:f#'(was filled with the usual Chrlstmas spirit and the musty smell of X-mas

decorations that had been in the attic for a year. It was about 7:30 and I had
been sitting in my room mesmerized by my TV set for the fourth hour on end.

The only thing that took my mind from \\!hat was displayed upon the glowing

oracle wa!3 the occasional Hallmark card ad, which sent me into a flurry of
h()W

Christmas excitement.

-fi..<hhy (

Suddenly, the monotony broke. From the end of the hall, I heard my father

yell at the top of his lungs, "There is a rat in the bathroom!" This being a

rare and shocking occurrence, T jumped from my spot on the floor and high

tailed it to the end of the hall. When I got there1I found my parents X
o1 t,
,
nquestionably upse dad proceeded to explain what had
'rifj) )\11
? .
happened. It seemed that, \\lhlle sitting at his computer In his bedroom, he
{/' heard a splash tn the nearest hathroom. Curious a anyone woulrl be, dad walked

"'

in only to discover a vet black rat sitting in the middle of the floor. "The

only thing I figure Is that the Rat came through the pipes and up through the
;:r dit:IIJ 'Iv 7hk. i.s-,. a;;e,<-/
t:? ' l';;tt,1- I I ,,,,.,
UA.l
toilet" he explained.
..fhll'}

I shuddered. The thought of a nearby orange grove rat llving in our

toilets \\las a bit discomforting.

///

$"

could've become a rat-pancake if dad hadn't suddenly been struck with a great
feeling of humanity. Thinklng quickly, dad sent me to get a screwdriver. I
fetched the tool and handed it to him. He took the screen off of the bathroom
window and set the it against thp ()pen window.
The Rat rejoiced. Seeing his fin.:il chance to escape, he scurried up the
, vv-11 5eerr, .
screen/ramp ,rnd to lhe window si J 1.
-fi f -,,-

T'J?'dfl .,to

For a moment, the Rat looked back at ns po(gnantly.

It

was as if he wanted

to apologize to us for intruding, to forgive us for threate11ing him and

(1

,i f
-,v-f 1;,.

basically attempting to rene.., the fragile bond that exists bet,..een the
civilized animals nd thP wild ones. Or maybe he ..,as Just watching out for
that damn badminton racket. He then turned and flew out of the window to his

r,61)'>(!
7v

,tJ:, destiny.

/fP"
-v1lt ..
l,

tt>i,.;

wt
f

J,

Finally, reeom to thP Rat and to the HovanPtz family. The holiday

festivities con11 resume.

Since then, I've tuld many pople about this incident and Lalways get a
Pi') rA.A,/ti oddly
reaction .of amazement. I've lso become more sensitive to Animals and their
emotions. Dail nov,1 thinks bPfore he acts. Anrl my he;:;t friend still refuses to
use our bathrooms.